"My best years are wasted like this. After coming out, everyone avoids my son and me, let alone finding a wife... My son, to be honest, most of this illness I have is from anger. Sometimes I really don't want to bother with him anymore, just die and be done with it. But then again, he's not a bad kid."
"Besides his temper, where is he not better than others? It's just bad luck. Although I can't help him much while I'm alive, at least when I go home, there's a hot meal. If I really die, he'll be too pathetic all alone in this world."
Zeng Hui felt distressed listening to her and wanted her to stop.
"Auntie, please don't be so pessimistic. Dong Jian is very good. If others don't think highly of him, it's their problem. Look, I quite like him."
"Don't be sad. As long as we have hope and work hard, things will get better."
From Zeng Hui's words, it seemed she really liked Dong Jian and wanted to be his girlfriend?
The old lady was overjoyed. She ate a big bowl of rice, which was rare, and was coaxed by Zeng Hui to sleep early.
With the medical expenses settled and her mother's heart at ease, Dong Jian could go back to work with peace of mind.
The two left the hospital together. On the way, Dong Jian asked Zeng Hui, puzzled.
"Why are you being so nice to me for no reason?"
Zeng Hui didn't hide anything. "Good things don't fall from the sky, only traps do. I won't be nice to you for no reason; I want to make a deal with you."
"Dong Jian, actually, our destinies are very similar. But I won't force you to do anything just because I spent money on you. Listen to my story first, and then consider if you want to help me."
The two walked leisurely along the road in front of the hospital. Zeng Hui recounted her story: how she studied hard from a young age, got into university, went abroad, met Dou Bao's father, how Dou Bao's father had an accident, how she insisted on giving birth to the child, and how she had lived with Chen Dongyang for so many years.
The entire narrative was calm. When she spoke of the details of her time with Chen Dongyang, she even smiled.
"Do you know, when I was pregnant, he accompanied me to every prenatal check-up. Everyone thought he was my husband, and he never denied it."
"He was the first person the child saw after being born. Later, when I was recovering after childbirth, we couldn't afford a nanny or good food. It was in that cramped rental room that he helped me with everything."
"Although his work was very hard during the day, when the baby woke up in the middle of the night and soiled himself, he would still get up and compete to help soothe the child. The first thing he did when he got home every day was to wash the baby's dirty clothes."
"Losing my boyfriend was supposed to be a very painful thing, but with him, to be honest, I didn't feel that sad during that time."
"I thought we would be like this forever, deeply becoming a part of each other's lives. I considered him my spiritual pillar, someone I needed to repay. But, he never looked at me in that way from beginning to end."
"Do you know how ashamed and sad I was when he told me I was overthinking things, that he never intended to develop a relationship with me?"
"It felt like I was the only one being overly affectionate, and he was just doing it to repay a debt."
"I was so upset, but can you imagine? Even though I was very upset and felt ashamed, I still didn't give up on him."
"I would cook meals and wait for him to come home, meticulously dress up, and speak to him cautiously, assessing the situation, trying to present myself as a perfect woman to get closer to him."
"But, while I was doing all this, he was constantly thinking of another woman."
"Everything he did, every extra shift he worked, was for that woman, and he was planning their future."
"Do you know how desperate I was when I found out? There are people in this world who have no heart, like your ex-girlfriend. You fought for her, wasted years of your youth for her, ruined your life for her, but what about her?"
"If I'm not mistaken, she probably married someone else right after, didn't she?"
"These people don't deserve happiness. I don't have your good temper, to just accept it with a dejected face, to live on, and watch the heartless be happy."
"I want to make those who wronged me pay, even if I have to pay a price at the same time. But as long as I feel at ease, life has meaning, doesn't it?"
Her words truly resonated with Dong Jian.
Dong Jian asked her, "Do you know how my leg got like this?"
Zeng Hui naturally didn't know. He gave a bitter smile.
"Even my mother didn't dare to tell the truth because it was too embarrassing. But you understand me, so I'll tell you."
"It wasn't done to me inside. The day I got out, I rushed to find her, and I found her with another man. I was beaten up by that man."
"She thought I was harassing her, that I was terrifying, so she had me beaten like this. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Looking at the tragic smile on his face, Zeng Hui felt their situations were increasingly similar.
She gritted her teeth fiercely. "Where is that woman now?"
"What? You want to get revenge for me?"
Zeng Hui said, "Honestly, Dong Jian, do you think living like this, neither human nor ghost, is meaningful? Seeing you being scolded by the restaurant owner today, I think you're worse than a dog!"
"That woman ruined you like this, and you can still let her off so easily? Don't you hate her every time you get scolded?"
Dong Jian used to be defiant, but since his leg was crippled, he couldn't find a job, faced discrimination when he went out, and was looked down upon by everyone.
Over time, he became self-conscious and accepted his fate.
But today, inspired by Zeng Hui, he rekindled his fighting spirit.
"What do you plan to do? That man is rich..."
Zeng Hui was quite dismissive. Perhaps she had given up on living; if life itself was not valued, then everything else was trivial.
"How much money does he have?"
"I don't know. I heard he opened a small factory, and he drives a BMW."
That was nothing.
Zeng Hui patted him on the shoulder. "How about this, come with me. Don't go to the restaurant tomorrow. Work for me from now on."
Zeng Hui took Dong Jian home. The house was spacious and clean, the most comfortable place he had lived in his 28 years.
That night, both slept well.
The next day, Zeng Hui woke up early and prepared breakfast. After eating, Dong Jian asked her about her plans. Zeng Hui said she was going to rent a car.
"Let's go meet your ex-girlfriend's husband. How can we go without a car?"
Zeng Hui wasn't greedy; she rented an S-Class Mercedes. The two of them, asking for directions, found her ex-girlfriend's husband's factory.
Hearing that a client was coming to visit the factory, the security guard let them in smoothly and led them to the boss.
Upon entering the boss's office, he sized them up and quickly remembered who Dong Jian was.
"You? Why are you here? Heh, pretending to be a client to find me, you've got some nerve!"